Yale University Library Catalog Department
Local Headings Task Group Report

Collection tracings

Collection tracings have been assigned by various units at Yale to provide
an access point through which a group of catalog records may be searched
and retrieved.

Collection headings have been used primarily

to provide access to material emanating from or pertaining to a particular
geographic region [area tracings];

to provide access to materials that are related by format and/or chronology
[format-related materials];

to group related materials that otherwise would not be so grouped [collection
names]; and

to identify catalog records created during the course of a particular project
or activity [project tracings].

a. Area tracings

Headings intended to provide access to materials of interest to area
studies, distinguished by year and month cataloged. Uses a combination
of formatted acronyms and dates in field 630:04 (Subject added entry--uniform
title; source not specified). Complete list of area tracings used in Yale
cataloging:

Headings intended to group materials related by a format/area combination
or era that otherwise would not be so grouped. Uses field 650:4 (Subject
added entry--topical term; source not specified). List of these materials
related by format used by the Rare Book Team:

The following has recently been suggested although not yet implemented
for headings intended to group related materials that otherwise would not
be so grouped. Proposes field 690:4 (Local subject added entry--topical
term; source not specified).

690:4: World Christianity Old Day Collection 1926
690:4: World Christianity Union Collection 1997

d. Project tracings

Headings intended to identify catalog records created during the course
of a particular project or activity. Uses field 630:04 (Subject added entry--uniform
title; source not specified).

Fields 630/650:x4 not subjected to automated authority control processing

Field 690:4 subjected to automated authority control base file processing

Alternative 1

Uses field 695:04 (Local subject added entry--uniform title; source
not specified). Although these data are not usual uniform titles, they
can be considered local uniform series titles, and generally are more like
uniform titles than they are like other local subject added entry tracings,
such as topical terms.

Not derived into other libraries' cataloging copy through the utilities

Would require only minimal change in current practice

Disadvantages

Neither a subject nor a uniform title--does not conform to defined contents
of field 695

Would require change in current practice

Authority control implications

Field 695 not subjected to automated authority control processing

Alternative 2

Uses field 653 (Index term--uncontrolled). Although this field is normally
used for keyword access to a document's contents, the definition of the
field ("This field contains index terms that are not derived from a controlled
subject heading system/thesaurus") does not prohibit its use in this manner.